Star in Window Quilt Block

The Star in Window quilt block is very striking and it makes up well in a quilt without any additions. It’s a big block and I’ve made it here as a 20″ square. I felt that if I went any smaller the patches for the star in the middle would be very small and fiddly to work with.

Cutting requirements for the star in window quilt block

6.7/8″ squares: two red, two blue

2.1/2″ squares: four red

2.7/8″ squares: four red, four blue

4.1/2″ squares: one red

2.1/2″ by 8.1/2″ rectangles: eight blue, four red

Make half square triangle units

Making the star in window quilt block

Make half square triangle units with the 2.7/8″ and the 6.7/8″ squares. Place a red and a blue square with right sides together and mark a line along the diagonal. Sew a 1/4″ seam either side of the marked line and cut along the line. This will give you two triangles, each with a seam along the base. Each one of these will open up to make a half square triangle unit. These are now either 2.1/2″ or 6.1/2″ squares.

Star layout

Lay the patchwork pieces out for the star first. There’s a 4.1/2″ red square in the middle with a 2.1/2″ red square in each corner. Between each pair of corners lay two half square triangles, positioned so that the two red triangles are together and form a larger red triangle pointing towards the middle.

Use strip piecing

For the next frame of this block you can save a little time by strip piecing. Sew together two 2.1/2″ strips of blue with a red strip between them. Cut this panel at 8.1/2″ intervals to make rectangles measuring 8.1/2″ by 6.1/2″. You’ll need four of these.

Layout for the star in window quilt block

Now you can lay out the remaining frame around the star. This is really simple – a red/blue half square triangle in each corner placed so that the red is on the outside and a rectangle placed between each pair of corners. The top and bottom rectangles are placed horizontally while the two side rectangles are placed vertically.

Sew the central star first

Sew the central star together first. You now have three rows of three pieces each. Sew the pieces together across each row and then sew the rows to each other to complete the star in window quilt block.

Star in window quilt image

For a quilt idea, I have just shown nine blocks sewn together in three rows of three. I think that it makes a lovely bold design – probably a good quilt for a man.

Comments

I have just found you on you tube . Forget tv now, just watch you and your fabulous quilts. I have decided to try and make a sample quilt from your many blocks. I have lots of different scraps of fabric and need to use them up. Have you any suggestions as to what would be the easiest and best blocks to use. I have only been quilting for 1year so I am still an amateur.
Thanks Anne

Hi Anne. I’m glad you’re finding the quilt block patterns helpful. A sampler quilt is a great way of trying lots of different blocks and gaining experience. Most of my quilt block patterns should be suitable for beginners. If you’ve come to me via youtube you may not have seen this page: https://ludlowquiltandsew.co.uk/quilt-block-patterns/. I have many more patterns there – most of my earlier blocks don’t have videos so you may not have seen them before. When choosing which ones to make, I’d say just go for the ones that you like the look of – check that the ones that you choose are all the same size as each other. As long as you use sashing to separate the blocks out, it’s not necessary to have all four patch, or all five patch blocks.